Among the Amazons Chapter 2

By the end of his first day of being owned by the princess, Kazimir quickly became aware of the issues with his new position.

Nearly all slaves in the escort had been expected to walk, their bound hands leashed to the back of one horse's saddle or another. Anarew's caravan had kept him and the other slaves in wooden, but strong cages that had plenty of spare room for any of the captives. Because of this, many of the newer slaves were almost enjoying being able to walk again, until they began to tire.

As a slave to royalty, Kazimir had been allowed to ride a horse, even if his hands were still bound, and he was positioned just behind Melza. While a boon of sorts, he gained much unwanted attention from others. His fellow slaves regarded him with jealous glares as they were forced to trudge along, while the amazons eyed him as a threat for constantly being so close to their princess.

To be caught between envy and suspicion was a place needing great caution on his part.

The only ones without hostile gazes were the nobles and non-warriors of the princess's retinue. They were odd. Some Amazons wore the normal disdain on their faces and some women gave him looks of pity, but many of both were curious or even confused by his presence. It could be for the princess's supposed kindness to him. After all, he wasn't sure if this was truly how a royal slave was normally treated, being given a horse to ride. But if not that, surely it was them wondering the same question as himself.

Why did she buy him?

No one dared to ask her directly, at least not while they traveled. It gave him time, to think and watch the princess. And she was definitely a princess; she exuded grace, power and beauty. But Kazimir had seen similar nobles and rulers before. Some were cruel, others haughty. But the noble air about Princess Melza was that of calm and confidence. As if she saw no danger to herself in anything, even traveling so far away from any form of aid.

She was arrogant, skilled, or naive. Time would tell him which.

Just as time had brought the sun to rest and their march to camp.

They stopped before a butte, a small mountain with a sheer drop on all sides and a flat peak at the top. Down from its side poured a small waterfall, forming a small oasis.

"You know what they call these?" Melza asked idly, gazing up at the mountain, two of her guards near them while the rest of the group began putting up tents.

Kazimir hesitated, wondering if she was expecting an answer or just speaking out loud. She turned to him, with a brow raised, and that was his cue. "I have my suspicions, Princess," he answered, glancing up before refocusing on her. "Is this one of the Ellabs?"

"Do men outside the Empire often know of these?" Melza inquired, pleasantly impressed.

"The Amazons believe that these are the severed cocks of Gods that the Goddesses castrate," Kazimir answered, a brief quirk to his lips. "It's hard not to know of such things."

"Watch your tone, slave," one of the guards warned in a low tone.

He didn't so much as look at her, keeping his eyes respectfully on the princess.

"Watch your own, Ranra," Melza warned neutrally. "If I take issue with my slave's demeanor, I'll address it."

Well, that was a pleasant surprise, and he was sure it showed on his face, because Melza's eyes flashed with momentary amusement even as this Ranra made a sound of submission yet also of poorly hidden displeasure.

"I'm sure men have their own stories for such things. How they are the cocks of Gods, impaling Goddess of the heavens?" Melza commented with interest.

Kazimir furrowed his brow at the prompt. Did she buy him to be her story teller? "No."

Melza seemed intrigued, almost surprised by the blunt and simple answer.

"Most stories about mountains I have heard, Princess, talk of them being the home of the Gods," he answered, deciding it was best to keep her interest in the moment.

"So, we say they're severed cock, you say the gods live in them," Melza noted, looking back up at the mountain for a moment.

"That, or a monster is buried underneath," Kazimir added on with a shrug.

"We throw ours in the sea," Melza retorted, pushing her horse towards the tents. "Come, we sleep with the sun."

Setting up camp had been an efficient process for the group, doing the work themselves instead of forcing the slaves to do it. It was obvious that this was not their first outing. He noted that there were three larger tents, each a small room to itself. The rest made camp around them, like a protective formation almost, with several campfires formed as food was prepared and shared. At the outskirts, the slaves were sequestered off, made to huddle around the lone fire they were allowed, with three guards watching over the group specifically. There were only six slaves besides him and at least ten amazons that weren't fighters yet plus over fifty amazon warriors.

Escaping out here was suicide, obviously. He had no idea where the nearest settlement was and would likely die of thirst even if he got away. More importantly, if he did, he'd likely ruin whatever good fortune he had with Princess Melza. Which might result in him getting castrated before the Ellab.

Melza dismounted and he assumed that was his prompt to do so as well. He assumed correct as she wordlessly untied the leash to his hands from her horse. He noted with some surprise that the princess led him into her own tent, the one on the far right. Inside, the room was bare save a thick rug with blankets and a small folding chair built for an amazon

They entered with only one guard following her in with him. Not an amazon though.

"Uredre," Melza addressed, motioning to her armor. The human woman came forth, helping the princess out of her armor. Kazimir recognized her as the same blond woman that present the box of currency to buy him from the caravaness.

The princess had a human woman as an attendant. That seemed interesting enough, but not as much as the fact that she was removing her armor in front of him. Granted, she was clad in red cloth that hugged her form

Melza caught his stare and smiled. "Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. Uredre is human, not Amazon," she confirmed as she removed the armor braces herself. "She's far more capable than my fellows would like to admit."

Kazimir wasn't sure what that implied exactly, nor did Uredre seem inclined to speak up.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I bought you," Melza mused, waving for him to sit down as Uredre helped her with the leg pieces. "Instead of leaving you to Onakila's nonexistent mercies."

"The thought crossed my mind, Princess," Kazimir admitted cautiously.

Melza paused, exhaling in satisfaction as the last of her armor was removed before taking the seat that was obviously meant for her. "Are you certain you should be calling me Princess instead of Mistress?" she inquired idly.

He frowned a bit at that, wondering if this was some sort of lead up to a punishment. "I assumed that being the Princess of the Amazons was a more important title than being a slave's owner," he answered cautiously.

"Clever, and correct," she agreed, glancing to the silent Uredre with a nod. The human hesitated before leaving. Now it was just him and the Princess.

He had his doubts now that she was just arrogant enough to sit unarmored before him without being certain he couldn't hurt her.

"To blunt, I'm fascinated," Melza answered with a smirk as Uredre returned with a small wooden bowl and a cup, handing both to the princess. The bowl was filled with strips of meat, cooked over a fire. "Ah, thank you, Uredre. I am famished!" she said with relief.

Kazimir found himself bewildered by that statement. "You think I'm fascinating, Princess?"

"Most men I've laid eye on are either mad dogs or broken shells. You, however, are not," she said casting him a knowing look. "You figured out that your slaver would be too busy with her more problematic captives to give extra discipline to those that complied."

There was no use denying it, he knew. She was obviously intelligent and observant. "That would be true, Princess."

Melza took a drink, looking to her attendant with a scowl. "Uredre, stop worrying and get your meal as well."

Uredre tensed before nodding, leaving the tent once more.

"My fellow Amazons, even my sisters often write humans off as being weak and unintelligent, compared to us. Men and women alike," Melza commented evenly. "They say women were once Amazons as well, but were cursed by the Goddesses to have their blood be stripped of our gifts."

Kazimir had heard similar stories, saying that Amazons were once women that made a deal with a mad Goddess or a demon from the bowels of the earth. But this might not be the time to share those stories.

"So, yes, I think you'll make an fascinating slave, Kazimir," she answered idly, Uredre returning with her own bowl and cup, sitting down to silently eat between the pair.

Kazimir frowned at that. She had answered the question, but only raised more questions. What was expected of him? What use did an amazon princess have with an intelligent, unbroken slave if not to break him herself?

Still, he could find no reason to resist at this moment. More important in the immediate sense was his own hunger and thirst as he watched the two females consume their meals.

"Here," Melza said, passing him her cup. He was obviously taken back, to her amusement. "I've been drinking from my water-skin all day," she reminded as she arose and headed to the back of the tent "Uredre, give him whatever is left of your meat when you are done. I'll see you both in the morning."

He furrowed a brow as he saw her slip out the back of the tent without another word, taking only her sword with her. "She doesn't sleep here?" he guessed, only getting a nod from Uredre.

Definitely not a talkative one, this Uredre.

Still, the princess was smart. Sleeping in one of these tents was basically asking to be targeted. But she left himself and Uredre here so that it wouldn't be empty if anyone peeked inside. In the darkness of night, anyone that managed to infiltrate the camp wouldn't be able to realize at first the guard wasn't even an amazon, let alone a princess.

He was brought out of his thoughts as Uredre passed him the bowl, filled with some meat still. He imagined this was better than what the other slaves were getting.

His eyes lingered on the human woman sitting to one side of the tent. Was she a former slave? Amazons enslaving men was common knowledge, but what they did with women was less known. Regardless of what she had been, she was trusted enough to be alone around the princess, with Melza being unarmed and Uredre in full armor. Even with Amazon strength, there was a level of trust and loyalty from Melza to Uredre, given what he just saw.

For now, he decided to lay himself down in a corner and attempt to sleep. He could only go as the wind blew and pray that this Princess Melza wasn't simply gifted at obscuring her cruel side.

AN Sorry for the long wait and hope you all enjoyed this. I'd appreciate the feedback.